Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the field of agricultural machinery. More particularly, the invention pertains to apparatus for loading, handling, and unrolling round bales.
Description of Related Art
De-balers, including bale shredders, choppers, and cutters serve to shred, chop, grind, or otherwise de-bale a single round bale, often to disperse, by blowing the de-baled material (e.g., straw). Some de-balers are used to spread straw in a field where livestock graze, or sometimes to spread straw as animal bedding or liquid absorbent. The de-balers are loaded with a single bale at a time, and drawn by a tractor or other vehicle across an area, such as a field, where the de-baler removes straw from the bale and disperses the straw in areas to a left or a right side of the vehicle and de-baler. The limited bale capacity of these de-balers requires expense of time to frequently reload bales. Further, when blowing straw to the sides of the vehicle and de-baler, an operator has limited control over where the straw lands, or how evenly it distributes. Wind, for example, can blow ground straw over wide areas where cover is unnecessary or undesirable. Furthermore, some confined spaces are difficult to cover where de-baler travel paths are restricted.